Trust (amaanah) in Islam, Dought & clear, - * What are the daily, weekly and monthly acts of worship?

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What are the daily, weekly and monthly acts of worship?
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
The topic of acts of worship and obedience is very broad, and there is not room to discuss it in full here.
The questioner may refer to the following books for details on this matter:
· At-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheebby Imam al-Mundhiri, along withSaheeh at-Targheeb wa’t-TarheebandDa‘eef at-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheebby Shaykh al-Albaani, for information on the verdict on the soundness and weakness of the hadiths.
· Riyaadh as-Saaliheenby Imam an-Nawawi, especially the section entitledKitaab al-Fadaa’il.
Secondly:
The daily acts of worship include the five daily prayers and doing wudoo’ for them; using the miswaak when doing wudoo’ and praying; praying in congregation (jamaa‘ah); the regular Sunnah prayers, Duha prayer, qiyaam al-layl (voluntary prayers at night); Witr prayer; the adhkaar for morning and evening; adhkaar to be recited by day and by night (when entering and leaving the home, when entering and leaving the mosque, when entering and leaving the washroom, when eating and drinking, following the prescribed prayers, and so on); repeating after the mu’adhdhin.
The weekly acts of worship include Jumu‘ah prayer; reading Soorat al-Kahf on the night before Friday and on Friday; sending a lot of blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the night before Friday and on Friday; fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.
Monthly acts of worship include fasting three days of every month (and it is preferable for that to be onal-ayaam al-beed, i.e., the 13th, 14thand 15thof the Hijri month).
Annual or occasional acts of worship include: fasting Ramadan; praying Taraweeh in congregation in the mosque; offering the Eid prayers; Hajj for those who are able to do so; giving zakaah for those for whom the conditions of it being obligatory are fulfilled; spending the last ten days of Ramadan in i‘tikaaf; fasting six days of Shawwaal; fasting ‘Ashoora’ and a day before it or after it; fasting the day of ‘Arafah; doing a lot of good deeds in the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah.
There are also deeds that are not connected to a particular time, so they are prescribed at all times, including deeds of the heart as well as physical actions. These include: offering voluntary prayers at times other than the times when praying is disallowed; observing voluntary fasts; ‘umrah; remembering Allah (dhikr); reading Qur’an; sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); supplication (du‘aa’); praying for forgiveness (istighfaar); honouring one’s parents; upholding ties of kinship; giving charity; spreading the greeting of salaam (peace) among the Muslims; having a good attitude; controlling one’s tongue; loving Allah, fearing Him and putting one’s hopes in Him; putting one’s trust in Him; contentment; certainty of faith; seeking His help, may He be glorified and exalted.
And there are good deeds that are done for a reason, in which case it is prescribed to do them when that reason is present. These include: visiting the sick; attending funerals; offering the funeral prayer; offering condolences; sayingYarhamuk Allah(may Allah bless you) to one who sneezes; returning greetings of salaam; accepting invitations; praying istikhaarah; offering the prayer of repentance (salaat at-tawbah); the eclipse prayer; prayers for rain; reconciling between disputing parties; lowering the gaze; refraining from harming others; bearing annoyance and calamity with patience; and so on.
The salaf (early generations) liked to combine four acts of worship on one day, namely: fasting, feeding the poor (charity), attending funerals and visiting the sick. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said concerning these actions: “These qualities are not combined in a man but he will enter Paradise.”Narrated by Muslim (1028).
And Allah knows best.

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Trust (amaanah) in Islam, Dought & clear, - * He wants to move from being Ibaadi to being Sunni (Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah)

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I follow the Ibaadi madhhab and I want to change my madhhab to Sunni but there are many obstacles, including the fact that I grew up with the Ibaadi madhhab, and my family and the people of the region where I live all follow this madhhab. My question is: what should I do?
Can I pray with my arms by my sides, without raising them, clasping my hands on my chest and saying Ameen, whilst doing all of these things in my heart?
What about my duties towards my parents and my family?
I hope that you can explain the differences between the four madhhabs and how to pray according to each madhhab.
What is the most famous of these madhhabs?
Which madhhab do you advise me to follow?
Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
Wisdom and kindness are the essence of the answer and advice that we will give you. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“He grants Hikmah (wisdom) to whom He pleases, and he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding” [al-Baqarah 2:269]. We hope that you will be one of the men of understanding, whom Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, guides and enables to bring about change at a personal level and at a community level, affecting the people around him too. That may be attained by reflecting, researching and pondering, and calling others to look critically at what they were brought up with and to re-examine it. Perhaps the greatest means that will help you to achieve that is learning the true differences between contemporary Ibaadis and the Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah (the Sunnis), who are the overwhelming majority of the Muslim ummah, namely the followers of the well-known madhhabs and the leading imams. If you study these matters, you will realise what you must do and the direction which you must take.
On our website, in fatwa no. 11529, we have previously discussed these differences, but we may sum them up here as follows:
1.
The Ibaadis believe that the one who commits a major sin will abide forever in the fire of Hell and will never emerge from it, like the disbelievers and polytheists. Hence they will never attain the intercession of those who intercede or the intercession of our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
2.
They misinterpret the attributes of Allah, may He be exalted, that are confirmed in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and also deny the meanings thereof that are befitting to the majesty of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. In that regard they are close to the Mu‘tazilis, because they say that the Holy Qur’an is created; they deny that the believers will see Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, in Paradise; and they misinterpret some matters of the unseen, such as the Balance (for weighing good and bad deeds on the Day of Resurrection) and the Siraat (bridge over Hell over which all must pass).
3.
Some of their books contain distorted readings of history and accusations against some of the senior Sahaabah such as ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Talhah and az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him). This led some of them to take a hostile stance and disavow Ahl as-Sunnah and disregard them completely. All of this is proven in some of their books; were it not for fear of making this article too lengthy, we would have quoted all of that.
But the questioner is not asking for detailed research on this matter.
What concerns us here is to explain what we always point out and highlight, which is that being in a good position before Allah, may He be exalted, on the Day of Resurrection can only be attained by following the middle path and adopting moderation in thought, belief and action. All of that has to do with following the overwhelming majority who constitute the Muslim ummah from the time of the Sahaabah and Taabi‘een, until the present day. This is an easy standard to follow, which the ordinary Muslim who is not specialised in the study of Islamic sciences can use in order to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, exactly like the way in which he may feel revulsion in his heart if he hear some people speaking about the benefits of smoking, when he knows that all the doctors, east and west, speak of the harmful effects of smoking. He will find himself with no choice but to accept what medicine has determined in most medical schools and scientific centres about the harms of smoking.
In the same way, it is a basic standard by which all Muslims may measure the details of beliefs, so that they will not divert to the right or left. There are innumerable sects and groups who have always been present throughout the entire history of Islam. The one who reflects will clearly see that all of them, without exception, remain aloof, with their leaders and their few scholars, from the main school of thought of the Muslim ummah, which is the school of thought of the Sahaabah, Taabi‘een and leading scholars whose biographies we read in the great books of Islam. Why would a Muslim take the risk of choosing to separate himself from the main body of the ummah and choose to follow one of these sects, no matter how much it claims to be following the truth, and no matter how much effort they put into producing proof to support their school of thought? In that case he will have separated himself from the majority of the ummah and its path, which was followed by the leaders and scholars of Islam. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, advising Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan of what he should do at times when people are confused between truth and falsehood: ‘Adhere to the jamaa’ah (main body) of the Muslims and their imam (leader).’ I asked, ‘What if there is no jamaa’ah and no leader?’ He said, ‘Then keep away from all those groups, even if you have to bite on the roots of a tree until death overtakes you whilst you are in that state.’”
Narrated by Muslim (1847)
Imam at-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: According to the scholars, what is meant by the jamaa‘ah (main body of the Muslims) here is the scholars of fiqh, knowledge and hadith. Then he narrated with his isnaad from Ibn al-Mubaarak that he was asked about the jamaa‘ah and he said: Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. It was said to him: Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are dead. He said: So-and-so and So-and-so.
End quote fromal-Jaami‘ as-Saheehby at-Tirmidhi (4/37).
What Mubaarak was trying to do was to give the names of some of the imams of Islam whom the non-specialist may take as examples and follow so that he may be guided to the straight path.
It was narrated from the great Sahaabi ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: You should follow the overwhelming majority.
Narrated by Imam Ahmad inal-Musnad32/157). This was narrated as a marfoo‘ report (i.e., attributed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) via da‘eef (weak) isnaads.
Imam ash-Shaatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
All are unanimously agreed that the view that matters is the view of the scholars and mujtahids. … Rather the overwhelming majority are the scholars whose ijtihaad carries weight. Whoever differs from them and dies, his death is a kind of jaahiliyyah. The phrase “overwhelming majority” may also refer to the ordinary people who are followers of these scholars, because they have no knowledge of share ‘ah, so they have no choice but to refer to the scholars concerning matters of their religion.
End quote fromal-I‘tisaam(3/217)
So the best advice we can give you is to believe in general terms in what was brought in the Qur’an and saheeh Sunnah, in the way intended by Allah, may He be exalted, and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), without distorting or misinterpreting anything, and to avoid indulging in that in which the Sahaabah, Taabi‘een and leading scholars of Islam throughout the centuries avoided, such as saying that the Qur’an is created, or that those who commit major sins will abide forever in Hell. In fact you should disavow these beliefs that were introduced at a later stage and are contrary to the Islamic texts and the consensus of the overwhelming majority, namely Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah, and which were the cause of many sects splitting from Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah, such as the Mu‘tazilis and Khaarijis.
When you do that, you will feel reassured and content, and you will belong to the history of this great ummah and its leading scholars. You will feel yourself connected to its civilisation and path throughout the long centuries going back to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). You will realise that you had been isolated from that civilisation and culture, limited to a small school, with few scholars and few classical books and a narrow view of history. That is sufficient reason to instil doubt in the heart of anyone who belongs to a group or sect, and make him check himself and wonder about the best generations, namely the generation of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then those who came after them, then those who came after them, and the overwhelming majority of the ummah and scholars – does it make sense that this huge multitude could all have gone astray from the truth, throughout the entire history of Islam, then no one followed the truth except this particular sect?! Thus he will come back to the standard of truth and justice which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, described in the verse in which He said (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination”
[an-Nisa’ 4:115].
This is the idea which we advise you to use in discussions with your people and your family, but you should use a cautious and gradual approach, by raising questions which will illuminate the path for those around you to rethink the matter once more, so that they will gradually accept from you your being different from them in your ideas and beliefs. If you are not able to do that, then at least you should believe in your heart what we have explained above, so that you can be reassured by returning to the moderate Sunni path.
Secondly:
During all that, there is nothing wrong with you delaying adhering to some Sunnah and mustahabb actions, such as placing the right hand over the left when praying, or raising the hands when saying takbeer, or saying Ameen out loud. All of these are Sunnah and mustahabb actions for which a person does not incur sin if he does not do them, and his prayer is not invalidated thereby.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Placing the right hand on the left in prayer is one of the Sunnahs of prayer according to many of the scholars. That was narrated from ash-Shaafa‘i and ashaab ar-ra’y, and was narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir from Maalik. This also appears to be the view of his madhhab, as followed by his companions who keep their arms by their sides (when praying). That was also narrated from Ibn az-Zubayr and al-Hasan.
End quote fromal-Mughni(1/341).
But no one said that this is obligatory. Please seeal-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah(27/86)
Similarly, we have not come across anyone who said that it is obligatory to raise the hands with the opening takbeer (takbeerat al-ihram) or other takbeers (in the prayer); rather this is one of the actions that are Sunnah and mustahabb – apart from the view narrated by Ibn Hazm inal-Muhalla(2/264). Please seeal-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah(27/84). The same also applies to the ruling on saying Ameen out loud. No one said that it is obligatory; rather the view of the Hanafis is that it is mustahabb to say it quietly. See:al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah(16/184)
In all cases, these Sunnahs are not the distinguishing feature to which attention must be paid, so you should not be striving to introduce outward changes that may put off the people around you. Rather you should strive to change the proper way of learning about Islam and interpreting texts, and change the way you understand the beliefs of Islam, which we hope will be a means of salvation in this world and the hereafter, and a step towards a new way of thinking.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There may be a single action which sometimes it is mustahabb to do and sometimes it is mustahabb not to do, depending on what interests are best served by doing it or not doing it, according to the shar‘i evidence. A Muslim may sometimes refrain from doing something that is mustahabb, if doing it is most likely to be detrimental to his interests, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) refrained from rebuilding the Ka‘bah on the foundations laid by Ibraaheem, and he said to ‘Aa’ishah: “Were it not that your people have only recently left Jaahiliyyah behind, I would have demolished (and rebuilt) the Ka‘bah, brought its door down to ground level, and given it two doors, one through which the people could enter it and one through which they could exit from it.” The hadith is narrated inas-Saheehayn. So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) decided not to go ahead with the better of the two options with good reason, namely the fact that Quraysh had only recently embraced Islam, and this would have been too strange and off-putting for them, so in this case the likely negative consequences outweighed the good.
And Allah knows best.

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Quraanic Exegesis, Dought&clear, - * Meaning of the verse “Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning?”

This has reference to chapter 76 Al-Insan or Ad Dahr verse 1. Has
there not been over a man a period of time.... to be mentioned. What
does the period of time imply? Is Adam peace be upon him Isaa peace be
upon him and prophet (sws) are included in insan.
Praise be to Allaah.
Soorat al-Insaan begins with a gentle rhetorical question which alerts
man to the fact that he was nothing before he was created, and Who is
the one Who created him and made him something worth mentioning after
he had been nothing. It comes in the form of a question so as to
attract the listener's attention and make him listen out for the words
that come after it. So Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing
worth mentioning?"
[al-Insaan 76:1]
The words insaan(man) in this verse includes all of mankind, because
all of mankind are created; they came into existence after they did
not exist and were not a thing worth mentioning, as Allaah said to the
Prophet Zakariya (peace be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):
"He said: 'So (it will be). Your Lord says: It is easy for Me.
Certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing!'"
[Maryam 19:9].
Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa'di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
In this soorah Allaah mentions the first state of man, and his
beginning, middle and end. He says that for a long time – which is
before man was created – he was nothing, and was not even worth
mentioning. End quote.
Tayseer al-Kareem al-Rahmaan fi'l-Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan(p. 900).
Al-'Allaamah al-Taahir Ibn 'Ashoor (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
What this means is: Does every man who exists realize that he was
non-existent for a long time, and he was not a thing worth mentioning,
i.e., he had no name and he was not spoken of. The wordinsaan(man) is
used to refer to mankind in general, as in the verse"Verily, man is in
loss, Except those who believe …" [al-'Asr 104:2-3].
i.e., has there not been over every man a period of time when he was
not a thing?Dahr(translated here as "a time") refers to a long time.
End quote.
Al-Tahreer wa'l-Tanweer(29/345-346).
Perhaps this view, which was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas and Ibn Jurayj,
is more sound than the view that it is Adam in particular who is
referred to by the word insaan (man). The context is general in
meaning, and points to the general meaning of the verse that comes
after it, in which Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):"Verily, We have created man from Nutfah (drops) of mixed
semen (sexual discharge of man and woman), in order to try him, so We
made him hearer and seer" [al-Insaan 75:2]. It is known that it is the
sons of Adam who are created from "Nutfah (drops) of mixed semen", so
this indicates that what is meant by the word insaan in the first
verse is all of mankind.
This statement that man had no prior existence has to do with the
creation of man and reality. In this sense the statement includes all
of mankind, even the Messengers and Prophets. All of them were
non-existent, then Allaah created them.
With regard to the knowledge of Allaah, all of mankind are known in
Allaah's eternal knowledge, and are recorded in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz,
but the Messengers and Prophets have a special mention in the highest
degrees, so they are the best of mankind, and their being mentioned in
the knowledge of Allaah is appropriate to the high status of
Prophethood and Messengership which Allaah has bestowed upon them.
And Allaah knows best.

Quraanic Exegesis, Dought&clear, - * The meaning of “Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad statements(or bad men for bad women)”; and is it possible to find a wife who is righteous bothoutwardly and inwardly?

I wrote this message after I read an essay. In its end a situation was
mentioned: Al-laalkaa'e narrated that when a man mentioned A'yesha,
may Allah be pleased with her, in a bad manner in Al-hasan ben zaid's
presence, he ordered to kill this man by sword. The Alwiyyoun said: he
is one of our group. So Al-hasan said: "we seek refuge with Allah from
this, this man slandered the prophet, peace be upon him. Allah
Almighty says (interpretation of the meaning): "Bad statements are for
bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad
statements (or bad men for bad women). Good statements are for good
people (or good women for good men) and good people for good
statements (or good men for good women) such are innocent of that
which people say: For them is pardon and a bountiful provision"
So if A'yesha may Allah be pleased with her is a bad woman then the
prophet, peace be upon him is also bad. Thus, this man is infidel;
kill him by sword, so they killed him.
What is the explanation of this verse "Bad statements are for bad
people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad statements
(or bad men for bad women). Good statements are for good people (or
good women for good men) and good people for good statements (or good
men for good women) such are innocent of that which people say: For
them is pardon and a bountiful provision"
I had a personal experiment myself; I married a girl who I though is
religious, my aim was to establish a righteous Muslim home in which I
try my best to follow the approach of our honourable prophet, peace be
upon him, and his companions. In brief, I did not ask about her very
well before marriage, I found her to be very vile. May Allah forgive
her and me. Most of her talk was lies and tricks. I did not feel she
has any passion for Islam or for righteousness. I divorced her after I
knew she is not going to change herself, we have one child.
I love Islam too much and I love anyone I feel he is religious, and I
have strong hatred to those who are immoral especially if they insist
on sinning or announce their sins.
My marriage and divorce experiment was the bitterest I had in my
life. I now fear I repeat the bitter experience again. I wish to find
who will help me be more religious. How can I be assured while people
are content to show opposite of who they really are? Especially when
it comes to such matters as marriage.
Before I married that woman I prayed istikhara many times and
consulted Allah, I was sometimes crying and asking Allah to guide me,
especially when I see bad signs from her side or from her family that
indicates they are not religious people.
I am not trying to say it is not my fault, or to show myself as the
better one in this relationship. By I love Islam, by Allah, and am
very jealous for Islam, and I hate lying strongly. Briefly, I do not
think it is in my hands to get the right one even if I ask very well
and collect information about the girl or try to test her personality
before marriage. Unless if Allah has mercy on me and blesses me with
giving me a righteous wife.
Marriage nowadays became very difficult. I, by Allah, think it is of
the most difficult matters, and the most difficult part of it is
finding a moral and religious wife. I think it is impossible unless
Allah permits. When I read or hear the mentioned verse, I feel very
sad; does it mean that I chose my previous wife because I deserve
this? I know it is a test from Allah, but I want to have a clear
explanation of the verse and, if possible, the rest of my queries.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The mufassireen differed concerning the meaning of the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad
people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women)"
[al-Noor 24:26]
Some of them said that it refers to bad and good words, so the
meaning of the verse is: Evil words are for evil men, and evil people
are for evil words, and good words are for good people, and good
people are for good words.
Others said that it refers to evil and good actions. So the meaning of
the verse is: Evil actions are for evil men, and evil people are for
evil actions, and good actions are for good people, and good people
are for good actions.
The third opinion concerning this verse is that evil and good refer to
people with regard to marriage. So the meaning of the verse is: evil
women are for evil men, and evil men are for evil women, and good
women are for good men, and good men are for good women.
There is no reason why the verse cannot be understood in all these
senses, although the most obvious meaning is the first one mentioned,
and this is the opinion of the majority of mufassireen. The second
view comes next.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa'di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad
people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women)"means all evil
men, women, words and actions that are fit for evil and in accordance
with it or accompanied by it and in harmony with it, and all good men,
women, words and actions that are fit for good and in accordance with
it or accompanied by it and in harmony with it. This explanation is
general in meaning and nothing is excluded from that. One of the
greatest application of this is that with regard to the Prophets –
especially the Messengers of strong will, and especially their leader,
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who is the best
among all the good of creation – only the best of women are suitable
for them. So the one who slanders 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased
with her) in this manner is slandering the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), which was the aim of the slander
(al-ifk) fabricated by the hypocrites. The mere fact that she was the
wife of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
confirms that she was nothing but good and pure and innocent of these
reprehensible matters.
So how about when she is the siddeeqah of women, the best, most
knowledgeable and purest of them, the beloved of the Messenger of the
Lord of the Worlds? Revelation did not come down to him when he was
under the same cover as any of his wives except her. Then the verse
states clearly, so that there will be no opportunity for any
propagator of falsehood to say anything and no room for any doubt
whatsoever:
"such (good people) are innocent of (every) bad statement which they say"
[al-Noor 24:26]
The reference is primarily to 'Aa'ishah, and then to the believing
chaste women.
"for them is forgiveness" [al-Noor 24:26]
meaning, forgiveness for all of their sins.
"and Rizqun Kareem (generous provision, i.e. Paradise)"i.e., in
Paradise, coming from the Generous Lord.
Tafseer al-Sa'di(p. 563).
Secondly:
What you have quoted about the killing of a man who slandered
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) is true. This is what the
Muslim rulers should do, which is to execute everyone who slanders
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), because impugning the
honour of 'Aa'ishah is disbelief in the Qur'aan, and impugning the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Either of these
actions implies kufr which puts a person beyond the pale of Islam, and
the one who does it deserves to be executed for apostasy.
Inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(22/185) it says:
The fuqaha' are unanimously agreed that the one who slanders 'Aa'ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) has disbelieved the clear,
unambiguous statement of the Qur'aan that was revealed concerning her,
and hence he is a kaafir. Allaah says – in the hadeeth of the slander
(al-ifk), after Allaah declared that she was innocent –"Allaah forbids
you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you
are believers" [al-Noor 24:18]. So the one who goes back to that is
not a believer.
Are all the other wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) regarded as being like her?
The Hanafis and the Hanbalis, according to the correct opinion, which
was favoured by Ibn Taymiyah, say that they are all like her. They
quoted as evidence the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad
people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women). Good statements
are for good people (or good women for good men) and good people for
good statements (or good men for good women): such (good people) are
innocent of (every) bad statement which they say; for them is
forgiveness, and Rizqun Kareem (generous provision, i.e. Paradise)"
[ al-Noor 24:26]
Slandering them implies slander of the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and impugning his honour, which is forbidden.
The other view, which is that of the Shaafa'is and the other view of
the Hanbalis, is that they – apart from 'Aa'ishah – are like the rest
of the Sahaabah; the one who reviles them is to be flogged, because he
is a slanderer. End quote.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Slandering 'Aa'ishah with regard to that of which Allaah has declared
her innocent is kufr, because it is disbelieving the Qur'aan. With
regard to slandering other wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) there are two scholarly opinions, the sounder
of which is that it is kufr, because it is a slander against the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because "Bad
statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men)."
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen(5/p.86)
See also the answer to question no. 954.
Thirdly:
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Women may be married for four things: their wealth, their lineage,
their beauty and their religious commitment. Choose the one who is
religiously-committed, may your hands be rubbed with dust (i.e., may
you prosper)." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5090; Muslim, 1466.
It is not impossible for a man to find a righteous wife who will help
him to obey Allaah, serve him, raise his children, and look after his
wealth and house. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) advised men to marry the woman who is religiously committed. If
it were not possible or within a man's capability to find that
religiously committed woman, the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) would not have advised him to marry her. He is the
one who said in the same hadeeth that some men marry women for their
beauty, and some marry them for their lineage or their wealth. Men
choose women according to their own desires and traditions and
customs, but his advice to all men is to look for the woman who is
religiously committed and marry them, because in marrying such a woman
there is a great deal of good which the man will see in himself, his
house and his children.
You should not give up hope of finding a woman who is religiously
committed and of good character. The Muslim ummah is still doing well
and there are still Muslim families which are raising women who are of
good character and committed to Islam, and are brought up in this
manner.
The failure of one experience of marriage does not mean that the same
will happen to all subsequent marriages. What happened to you may have
been a punishment to you because of your shortcomings in asking and
finding out about the woman whom you married.
People know one another and mix with one another, so the state of a
family and its members will not be hidden from their relatives and
neighbours. The members of the family mix with people in the mosque
and school and when visiting people, so a righteous woman will be
known and distinguished from the opposite, and the religiously
committed man will be known and distinguished from his opposite, by
their adhering to regular prayer, and adherence to outward shar'i
laws, and their attitude in dealing with others. What one of them
hides inwardly is something that no one can know, and the one who is
deceived by outward righteousness when a person is inwardly corrupt is
not to be blamed, because our Lord does not require us to look at what
is hidden inside people.
Moreover, what is applicable to the women among whom you are looking
for a life partner is also applicable to you. How do people know who
you really are, or what you are like inwardly? Guardians have been
advised to give their female relatives in marriage to men who are
religiously committed and of good character, based on what they can
see, as well as asking and finding out from the relatives of the
suitor. Whatever wrong impressions and deceit may happen on the part
of the woman may also happen – and more so – on the part of the man.
So you should not be anxious or worry because of your first marriage.
All you have to do now is look carefully, and ask good people about
good families who raise their daughters to obey Allaah and with good
morals and attitudes. Then you can focus your questions about the one
whom you want to marry from those families, by asking her friends and
classmates about her commitment and righteousness, and about her
attitude and interactions with others. Thus you will have followed the
advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
we hope that you will not be disappointed by her and that they will
not be disappointed by you.
We ask Allaah to help you to make a good choice and to bless you with
a righteous wife who will keep you chaste and you will keep her
chaste, and you will treat her well and she will treat you well, and
to bless you with good and righteous children.
And Allaah is the Source of strength.